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Jordan Spieth closes in on Open victory as Branden Grace makes history with first 62 ever shot in 157 years of majors
Branden Grace offered us history. Birkdale offered us as many throat-filled thrills on an Open Saturday as we can remember and Jordan Spieth offered us a three-shot lead that nobody should look past, whatever their memories of last year’s Masters capitulation.
By Sunday evening, we should envisage not only toasting the first 62 ever shot in 157 years of the men's majors – after, incredibly, 31 instances of a 63 - but also only the second male ever to win three different majors before the age of 24.
Tiger Woods did not manage it, but Jack Nicklaus did. That is the calibre of legend against which Spieth is vying. And on a day when this rain-soaked, gust-free links has never seemed so compliant, the young Texan managed to accomplish that most difficult of tasks for a front-runner and increase the advantage while everyone else is furiously sprinting in behind.
If Spieth picks up the Claret Jug, to go with the green jacket and the US Open trophy, he will only need the USPGA’s Wanamaker Trophy next month to complete the career grand slam. He would be the youngest ever to do so.
There is, of course, a long, long way to go before that outrageous scenario and this 18 holes will not be straightforward, regardless of his commanding cushion. After a 65 - with a birdie on the 18th, which, dare we say, was Tigeresque - he is on 11-under, with Matt Kuchar on eight-under after a 66.
Kuchar, 39, pushed his Ryder Cup partner all the way and on the last appeared on the brink of reducing the arrears to a single shot and grasping a night’s sleep on the momentum.
He was 10 feet away, Spieth 30 feet distant, on the fringe. But yes, Spieth holed and you must be a fool if you do not think this influenced Kuchar’s miss. The latter will no doubt have other chances in the final round, but that must have been incredibly dispiriting.
Once more, The Open's denouement seems a two-horse affair, with another three shots back to the pack. Yet perhaps Brooks Koepka is also a hopeful, the US Open challenger compiling a 68 to stand at five-under.
He is six behind and even though England’s Danny Willett - the 2016 Masters champion - has proven that Spieth is not assured of victory, even with a sizeable lead, it would take a brave person to bet on a repeat.
“I'm in a position where that experience can be very advantageous,” Spieth said. “Everything I've gone through, the good, the bad, and everything in the middle. I understand that leads can be squandered quickly, and I also understand how you can keep on rolling on one. So it was a humbling experience that I thought at the time could serve me well going forward.”
Alongside Koepka is Canadian Austin Connelly, who has the same coach as Spieth - Cameron McCormick - but none of the garlands. He is 5ft 7in and under 11st and is a member of the European Tour with a best finish of eighth. His fairytale display only added more glitter to a party-like occasion.
The only negative on a day rich with positives was the R&A’s decision to accede to the US TV requests and put the last group out at as late as 3.55pm. Ridiculous.
It almost gave the venerable golfing body a scorch mark on the posterior when there was a thunder and lightning warning issued at 6.15pm, the time when the leaders should really have been waving there way up the 18th fairway.
It would have been criminal to have allowed a gigantic, irrevocable, wet splodge to blot this wonderful third round. We can only pray they learn the lesson. TV second; money, second. Tournament first; players and fans first. Shame on the organisers.
As it was, the climatic hour featured pouring rain, with the punters who had been so happy, so fulfilled, suddenly being forced to run out of the gates. At least they saw a 29-year-old from Pretoria grab sporting immortality.
Grace has never been scared to go low. But ignorance is bliss, and he did not realise the significance of going as low as 62. Since Jonny Miller shot a 63 in the final round of the US Open at Oakmont in 1973 - which in the opinions of the experts, especially Jonny’s, is the finest 18 holes ever played – nobody has ever shot lower than 63.
Greats such as Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Vijay Singh and Rory McIlroy have come within an angel hair’s breath of lowering the mark. They all failed. It took Mr Inscrutable to end the curse.
Many will argue that this is not the greatest round in one of the big four, but purely on numbers – i.e. scores added up – they are wrong. It became obvious – to the rest of us anyway - that it was on when he went out in a five-under 29. Possibilities became probabilities when he birdied the 14th.
Yet he failed to birdie 15th – yanking an eight-footer – and the game of golf thought ‘here we go again’. Grace, though, had other ideas, rolling in an outrageous 35-footer on the 16th after what, in truth, was a pretty ropey tee-shot, and then birdieing the 17th after two splendid shots into the heart of the par-five green.
He nervously parred 18 – or perhaps not – and must have wondered what the din was about. It was the ideal hors d’oeuvre for a golfing feast.
By then Dustin Johnson, the world No 1, was tearing in and after a 64 for a three-under total will still be given a whisper by some. Not a loud one, to be honest. McIlroy’s is yet more faint in two-under.
McIlroy seemed possessed when he started with three birdies in the first five holes, effortlessly driving the par-four fifth. He was to suffer a mini-implosion from the seventh, however, bogeying two of the next four holes and finishing that tournament-wrecking run with a double-bogey after driving into a pot bunker and then almost finding another.
Although he steadied the ship, by birdieing the 15th – missing a 10-footer for an eagle – he is once again sailing into a decent finish at a major but not the destination his talents demand.
After standing at five-over after his first six holes on Thursday he seemed like one of those racehorses who had made all the ground back up before running out of energy again.
McIlroy is on the same mark as Ross Fisher who, with a 66, joined Ian Poulter as England’s best hope here of ending the 25-year Open drought. A forlorn hope, admittedly.
Poulter could not join the birdie charge, playing solidly enough until the 10th, when reaching four-under, before a surely fatal hat-trick of bogeys in a row. The perils of Birkdale in one small act.
Tee times for the leading groups on Sunday
1.30pm Poulter & Ramsay
1.40pm McIlroy & Fisher
1.50pm Cabrera-Bello & Kim
2pm Stenson & Johnson D
2.10pm Matsuyama & Grace
2.20pm Koepka & Connelly
2.30pm Spieth and Kuchar
Jordan Spieth takes a three-stroke lead
Into the final round at Royal Birkdake. We have three Americans and an American-Canadian dual citizen in as Sunday's final two pairings.
Today's leading scores
62 Branden Grace
64 Dustin Johnson
65 Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, Shaun Norris, Scott Hend, Jason Day.
Spieth and Kuchar complete and compete
Are on the green in regulation at the 18th after turbo-charged drives. Spieth has an undulating downhill 12-footer that breaks in from right to left and drops into the heart of the cup. That's a 65 for him and -11 in the tournament. Kuchar has six feet and it horseshoes out, around the lip to the left. That's par for Kuchar when Spieth put on the hurt with the birdie.
-11 Spieth (18)
-8 Kuchar (18)
-5 Koepka (18), Connelly (18)
-4 Grace (18), Matsuyama (18)
He's an old ham, Poulter
Loves the grand stage and rattles in his par-saver on 18 to end the day on -2, the same as McIlroy. Koepka had a horrid, snaky one for par and can't make it, leaving him a three-footer for bogey which he drills into the cup. He'll be playing with Connelly tomorrow then.
-10 Spieth (17)
-8 Kuchar (17)
-5 Koepka (18), Connelly (18)
-4 Grace (18), Matsuyama (18)
Kuchar gets one back
With a birdie at the 17th, saving himself from sand with an exquisite wedge and a calm putting stroke. Spieth consolidates with a par after sweeping his birdie effort to the left of the cup.
-10 Spieth (17)
-8 Kuchar (17)
-6 Koepka (17)
-5 Connelly (18)
-4 Grace (18), Matsuyama (18)
Young Austin Connelly
Is moving smoothly forward with back-to-back birdies at the 17th and 18th to register a 66 and move to -5, on his own in fourth place. The birdie putt at the last broke from right to left and he hooped it expertly so t fell in on the right side of the cup.
-10 Spieth (16)
-7 Kuchar (16)
-6 Koepka (17)
-5 Connelly (18)
-4 Grace (18), Matsuyama (18)
McIlroy finishes
At one-under for the day, -2 for the tournament when his birdie putt at 18 holds up on the greasy surface and stays up. Poulter's birdie attempt at the 17th is perfect on line but not length. Another turn of its circumference and it would have been in but it stuck like Velcro to the lip. He goes to the 18th tee on -2 but Koepka has more spring in his step after rattling in his six-footer to move up to -6.
-10 Spieth (16)
-7 Kuchar (16)
-6 Koepka (17)
-4 Grace (18), Matsuyama (18)
Kuchar falls short
Richard Bland ends with 70 and goes into the final day at one-under. Kuchar chips out of the sand and leaves himself a monster for par at 16 that he leaves way too short - the rain on the grass? Spieth has a 10-footer for birdie that he slides past the cup on the left and taps in for par. Can Kuchar keep it down to just one dropped shot? No, he can't. Double bogey. What a swing.
-10 Spieth (16)
-7 Kuchar (16)
-5 Koepka (16)
-4 Grace (18), Matsuyama (18)
Shouldering responsibility
Paul McGinley notes that McIlroy's shoulders have slumped but his approach to 17 is bang on line, only a touch short. At the 16th tee Kuchar has the honour and batters his drive down the right and into a bunker. Spieth mirrors his partner and finds the first cut on the left. McIlroy takes two putts on the 17th green for par.
Spieth and Kuchar
Are both on the green with woods off the fairway at 15 and have excellent two-putt birdie chances. First, though, eagle putts and Spieth's is the shonkier, giving himself a tricky uphill six-footer for birdie after pushing it too far downhill and watching as gravity did its worst. Kuchar puts the brakes on his, leaving him a tap-in to go to -9 and a slice of the lead ... until Spieth trades blow for blow and nails his uphiller. Here comes a seaside shower. Three to play:
-10 Spieth (15)
-9 Kuchar (15)
-5 Koepka (15)
-4 Grace (18), Matsuyama (18)
Rafa Cabrera Bello
One of Jay Townsend's tips has made birdies at 17 and 18 to end the day on -3 with a 67 to match Thursday's. He's the leading European to date. McIlroy tees off at 17 and fires his bomb of a drive down the right beyond the first cut. It's all about the lie.
Koepka steps up at 15
Almost two strides with an eagle putt that stays up by a hair's breadth but he taps in the birdie putt to move back up to -5. Poulter too rattles in his birdie putt from 5ft and he returns to -2.
Come on Poulter, you're Europe's only hope now. #theopenpic.twitter.com/jjbiXxLyyu
— Darth Monty (@Darth_Monty) July 22, 2017
Lovely from Kuchar
Who narrows Spieth's lead by draining his 20-footer. He has judged the pace of his putts superbly today. Spieth leaves himself a curly four-footer for par that he bends in. Kuchar is now on -8 with four to play, Spieth on -9.
The wind is getting up
And takes Spieth's drive to the par three 14th off to the left of a green as big as Wembley. Kuchar fives himself a better birdie chance with a pin-high chip, maybe 20ft from the flag.
McIlroy's eagle putt
Slides by on the right but he has a tiddler for a birdie to have him moving forward again to -2. He wears black on the outside because black is how he feels on the inside ...
It's the hope ...
Rory McIlroy pings a gorgeous iron to within 15ft at the 15th to give himself an eagle chance. Kuchar digs himself out of trouble at the 13th with a pitch out of the hay and a fortunate bounce as it hits the front of the green and bounds beyond the pin. He has a birdie putt from 25 ft and it fails to break from right to left at the end, stays true and rolls 18 inches past. Spieth's putt from inside Kooch's does break but stays up. Both make par.
Three successive bogeys for Poulter
Another dropped shot at 13 and his playing partner drops one too. Poulter is on -1 and Koepka -4, five behind Spieth.
The skies are darkening
And there are reports of lightning 20 miles inland. Is it coming this way?
Another bogey for Poulter, this time on 12, takes him back to -2 which makes Fisher's clubhouse -2 currently the best joint home score but the Americans are off in the distance, beyond the horizon. My, Matsuyama has a sizzling putter today, rattling in a birdie at 17 to advance to -4.
66 and all that
Ross Fisher completes his round with a bogey to record a 66, five successive pars from McIlroy have re-established equilibrium following his post-fifth wobble but the march isn't coming I'm afraid.
Apologies for the delay in updating
Had a technical issue with the system - much to report. Ian Poulter drops a shot at the 11th, Matsuyama makes a birdie at the 16th to move to -4 while Spieth keeps his lead intact with precision driving. Normal service will be resumed now. Sorry again.
Kuchar in Rory territory on 10
Way up the left but in the hay not the sand. He slashes his iron out of the high stuff to 30 yards short of the pin giving himself a fine opportunity to get up and down. Off the 12th tee, McIlroy delights the gallery with a pristine drive maybe 20ft short of the pin. Kuchar chips just past the flag while Poulter, on 11, also drags his tee shot off to the left into hacker country.
Poulter moves up
As his putter warms up to match his impeccable short game, he drains his birdie putt on 10 to join Mr 62 Grace on four-under. Both Kuchar and Spieth display their intestinal fortitude at the ninth after failing to make the green initially but scrambling to save par.
A sin of omission
I'm afraid we haven't been paying too much attention to Wentworth's Ross Fisher who forged such an excellent partnership with Padraig Harrington at the 2010 Ryder Cup. He has juts made back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15, his fourth and fifth of the day and joins Ian Poulter on -3 as the highest placed home players, six off the lead.
Birdie at nine for Poulter
Repairs the damage of the bogey and restores him to the -3 he started with. Rory McIlroy, though, falls from -3 to -1 after that scrappy and wild 10th which puts his first double bogey of the tournament on his scorecard.
McIlroy in trouble at 10
He fires his drive into the first of the two potbunkers just past the 200 yard line, chips out and watches in agony as it rolls back to the hay at top of the second one. He has to stand in the bunker to address the ball and slashes it with an almost horizontal club into the rough on the left of the green.
Meanwhile Spieth and Kuchar trade birdies at the eighth, taking the leader to -9 and the man in second to -7. With US Open champ Brooks Koepka in third on -5 each can hold up a letter - U, S and A - atop the leaderboard.
McIlroy out in 32
After two steps back, he moves one stride forward by sinking a birdie putt on the ninth, caressing it in with poise and precision.
Brooks Koepka moves back up to -5 with a birdie at the eighth. His playing partner Poulter has dropped a shot and slides down to -2. His putting has been stone cold so far.
What of Richard Bland?
He makes a birdie at the ninth to repair some of the damage inflicted by bogeys at the 1st and 3rd. Out in 35 he is +1 for the tournament.
Henrik Stenson
Makes par at the last and becomes the fourth man to score 65 today, alongside Jason Day, Scott Hend and Shaun Norris. None too shabby, only by comparison with Dustin Johnson's 64 and Branden Grace's 62. Back on seven Spieth drains his birdie putt to extend his lead back to two strokes at -8 and back-to-back bogeys for McIlroy leaves him chasing a birdie at nine and he sets himself up for a good chance with a pinpoint eight iron.
Crimewatch UK
Henrik Stenson has made six birdies and dropped a shot with a bogey today and the defending champion and high profile burglary victim is at -3 for the tournament through 17.
An eagle chance from Kuchar
One that curls from left to right, slightly uphill at the fifth. He slides it up and it takes a turn but bends around the back of the hole and doesn't go down. He goes back to -6, to a stroke behind Spieth who leaves his birdie effort up on the right.
Dustin Johnson signs for a 64
And seems deservedly proud and relaxed about not shooting for the record. 'I had a good session on the range today. I got a good feeling and started hitting some good shots. I was aware of it [the record], for sure ... if its breezy tomorrow anything can happen. If I'm not too far behind I always think I have a chance.@
Brooks Koepka
Who is playing with Poulter, rounds off a hat-trick of birdies at five to progress to a share of second place at -5 with Kuchar. McIlroy's tee shot at the seventh sails into the cabbage down the left and the long grass envelops his wedge when he tries to pitch out, leaving himself a horrible 12-footer to save par from off the green that he doesn't make. That'll be his first bogey of the day.
The savage sixth
McIlroy has a birdie chance with an 18-footer uphill that breaks from left to right but he leaves it short and taps it in for the par. He remains on four-under and still has a spring in is stride as he skitters off to the next. Ian Poulter fought back from his opening bogey with a string of pars at two, three and four but makes his first birdie of the round at the fifth after a tricky uphill mazy eagle effort.
DJ finishes par, par, par
To record a 64 that pushes him up to -3 for the tournament. He's had a terrific third round but lost some of his sparkle at the end.
Matt Kuchar, after an impressive start, three-putts on four to drop a shot and walk on to the fifth tee back at five-under. Spieth makes par and extends his lead to two strokes.
Tit for tat, tat for tit
Matt Kuchar birdies the third but, going mano a mano, so does Jordan Spieth after a sensational second shot that he arrows from the centre of the fairway to 5ft in front of the pin. What a day this has been. When there's no wind, this course behaves like a graduate of the Mayfair Charm School. When it's blowing a gale, it's a yobbo.
Matt Kuchar halves Spieth's lead
With a birdie at the second following his playing partner Spieth's par. Dustin Johnson qent into one of the pot bunkers from the tee at 17 but he chips out to 20ft for his birdie opportunity. He takes his time but pushes it to the left of the cup. He remains on -6 going down the last. McIlroy's eagle putt doesn't have enough oomph as it dawdles on its way to the hole and dies before it falls. That's still a birdie and a charge to -4.
Astonishing from McIlroy
Off the tee at the par four 5th. He takes out a three-wood, swivels the shoulders in the manner that makes Butch Harmon purr and creams his drive to within 12ft of the pin. Austin Connelly who began with birdie, eagle has skipped the logical part of the trifecta with a bogey at the third. The 20-year-old turned pro at 18 after deciding to turn down a scholarship at the University of Arkansas.
A touch of class from the greatest
Happy for and proud of Bear's Club member @BrandenGrace on the 1st 62 in major-championship history. Great round at Royal Birkdale #theopen
— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) July 22, 2017
Rory!
McIlroy has just drained a pitch from 30 yards, bumping it up on to the fourth green and watching as it snaked down the dog-leg break and curved into the hole. He's on -3 now.
A hat-trick of birdies
For Hideki Matsuyama at the 5th, 6th and 7th launches him up to -2 alongside the defending champion Stenson who has birdied 12 and 14 to move to -4 for the day. Spieth and Kuchar make pars on the first but the focus turns to Dustin Johnson at the sixteenth for his birdie chance to advance to -7 but he leaves it high on the left. Not enough gas.
Up on 16
Dustin Johnson rescues his wild tee shot with a superb second off the track that leaves him an 8ft birdie chance while back at the first Kuchar is well-placed on the green after a superbly straight drive while Spieth if off to the left in the fringe.
The last pair are on the tee
Jordan Spieth, pulls his drive into the rough on the left. Up on the green Poulter has a serpentine birdie putt that he leaves short but up on two Austin Connelly launches his nine iron from about 130 yards and arcs it on to the green and into the cup for an eagle two. The 20-year-old Canadian who qualified at Royal Cinque Ports is now on -4. And the Scot Richie Ramsay gives his putt just enough gas on two for a birdie that makes up for the bogey on the first hole.
Can Dustin match Grace?
The top-ranked golfer makes birdie at 15 to move to -6 for the round with three to play, exactly the position Grace was in as he walked on to the 16th tee.
MIlroy and partner diverge
Rory McIlroy's second at two leaves him maybe 22ft for a birdie. He rolls it near enough to make par. His playing partner, Gary Woodland, was not so fortunate with his lie for the second and drops a shot to move back to level par while Rory is on -2.
McIlroy begins with a birdie
At the first. He's playing with Garry Woodland and hit three perfect shots - drive, edge and putt from 5ft. He uses an iron off the tee at the second, a two-iron, and hangs it a little left into the first cut. Woodland follows his route but his has even more fade and lands in the hay.
Branden Grace's caddie Zack Rasego on his boss' 62: "I don't do interviews. Players do interviews." #TheOpen#TheAntiSteveWilliams
— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) July 22, 2017
Branden Grace speaks
It was a special round from the start . I played really solid from tee to green. I missed a couple of shorter ones. I was not aware of the 63, it was my caddie, Zak, who told me I was in the history books when I made that putt. I thought I'd just had a good day. I saw the lines perfectly and had the speed. All the long putts just trickled in. At 17 I had perfect distance with a three-iron and just had the putt to make. The two-putt on 18 was tough but my long range putting was great all day but I didn't know what was going in. It helped that I didn't know - making three birdies in the last five holes shows that.
They've been playing major championships for 157 years. This is the 441st. There's never been a 62 -- until now. Branden Grace has done it.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelESPN) July 22, 2017
Bubba bitten by Martian ball
He's still using the luminous monstrosity that has turned his battalions of critics on social media puce. This is what happened to his birdie putt at the third after pars at the 1st and 2nd. Mud in one of the dimples on the left would probably have pulled it in.
Rory McIlroy tees off at the first. He looks breezy and untroubled and batters a monster drive 300 yards and just into the first cut.
All eyes on Grace
But we mustn't overlook Dustin Johnson's march - he birdied 10 and made par at 11 and 12 to be five-under with six to play. Elsewhere Masters champion Sergio Garcia - how lovely it feels to write that - has birdied the fifth and seventh to move up to level-par and Essex's Matthew Southgate has made four birdies to advance from +4 to par.
He's done it, Branden Grace scores a 62
What a remarkable round, eight birdies, the first ever 62 in a major. He rattles in the par putt and its' probably no more than 30 inches.
And of course Ewen Murray had to say 'Amazing, Grace!'
Grace used rather too much club
With his second shot and has left himself a tricky two putts for par from the apron at the back of the green. His first putt is extraordinarily good, 60ft up the hill and down the dale to within 4ft for par.
The 63 club
Par at the 18th and Grace goes one better:
Masters (2)
Nick Price -- 1986, Augusta National, 3rd round, -9 (72), finished 5th
Greg Norman -- 1996, Augusta National, 1st round, -9 (72), finished 2nd
U.S. Open (5)
Johnny Miller -- 1973, Oakmont, 4th round, -8 (71), won
Jack Nicklaus -- 1980, Baltusrol, 1st round, -7 (70), won
Tom Weiskopf -- 1980, Baltusrol, 1st round, -7 (70), finished 37th
Vijay Singh -- 2003, Olympia Fields, 2nd round, -7 (70), finished T-20
Justin Thomas -- 2017, Erin Hills, 3rd round, -9 (63), finished ???
The Open (10)
Mark Hayes -- 1977, Turnberry, 2nd round, -7 (70), finished T-9
Isao Aoki -- 1980, Muirfield, 3rd round, -8 (71), finished T-12
Greg Norman -- 1986, Turnberry, 2nd round, -7 (70), won
Paul Broadhurst -- 1990, St. Andrews, 3rd round, -9 (72), finished T-12
Jodie Mudd -- 1991, Birkdale, 4th round, -7 (70), finished T-5
Nick Faldo -- 1993, St. George’s, 2nd round, -7 (70), finished 2nd
Payne Stewart -- 1993, St. George’s, 4th round, -7 (70), finished 12th
Rory McIlroy -- 2010, St. Andrews, 1st round, -9 (72), finished T-3
Phil Mickelson -- 2016, Royal Troon, 1st round, -8 (71), finished 2nd
Henrik Stenson -- 2016, Royal Troon, final round, -8 (71), won
Club golfers: If Branden Grace pars the last he'll card 62.
Pros: if Branden Grace birdies the last he'll shoot 61 & is 1 back. #TheOpen— Luke Elvy (@Luke_Elvy) July 22, 2017
PGA Championship (14)
Bruce Crampton -- 1975, Firestone, 2nd round, -7 (70), finished 2nd
Raymond Floyd -- 1982, Southern Hills, 1st round, -7 (70), won
Gary Player -- 1984, Shoal Creek, 2nd round, -9 (72), finished T-2
Vijay Singh -- 1993, Inverness, 2nd round, -8 (71), finished 4th
Michael Bradley -- 1995, Riviera, 1st round, -8 (71), finished T-54
Brad Faxon -- 1995, Riviera, 4th round, -8 (71), finished 5th
Jose Maria Olazabal -- 2000, Valhalla, 3rd round, -9 (72), finished T-4
Mark O’Meara -- 2001, Atlanta Athletic, 2nd round, -7 (70), finished T-22
Thomas Bjorn -- 2005, Baltusrol, 3rd round, -7 (70), finished T-2
Tiger Woods -- 2007, Southern Hills, 2nd round, -7 (70), won
Steve Stricker -- 2011, Atlanta Athletic, 1st round, -7 (70), finished T-12
Jason Dufner -- 2013, Oak Hill, 2nd round, -7 (70), won
Hiroshi Iwata -- 2015, Whistling Straits, 2nd round, -9 (72), finished T-21
Robert Streb -- 2016, Baltusrol, 2nd round, -7 (70), finish T-7
After Grace's superb second shot
He makes a sensible first putt that serves as a lag and he rolls in the 2ft gimme he left himself to move to eight-under for today and -4 overall. A par at the last makes history as the first man to shoot 62 at a major.
Grace be to Grace
Grace is on the fairway at 17, just behind the sprinkler head and sends a terrific long iron past the flag where it stops maybe 25ft past. If he gets down in two the 62 is not just on but likely bolted on.
Grace approaches the 17th
His best chance of a birdie to make that 62 likely, and he begins with a sweet drive.
Rickie Fowler drains his eagle putt on five to move to level-par. Sergio gives him a pat.
Cries of USA
'Ewe ess ay' for Zach Johnson when he drains a birdie putt at the second. The winner at St Andrews two years ago, Johnson raises his hand. And the holy grail of 62 is looking more possible by the minute because Branden Grace, not the most liked player on the circuit after Wentworth, rattles in his birdie putt on 16 to move seven-under for today and -3 overall. Dustin Johnson begins the back nine with his fifth birdie in 10 holes to advance to -2.
Grace has a birdie chance on 15
After messing up his bump and run he is left with a 15-footer that horseshoes around the lip and stays up. That's a gimme for a par. Dustin Johnson has a birdie putt of 20ft at nine to match Grace's 29 for the opening half and he goes for it boldly but it just dribbles by on the right.
Birkdale today: If there are nae bogeys, it's nae golf.
— Dan Jenkins (@danjenkinsgd) July 22, 2017
Willett down, Fitpatrick up
Some consolation for Hallamites - Matt Fitzpatrick has eagled the fifth by sinking a wobbly 15-footer. He's now on +1 following a bogey at the third.
Bass, how low can you go?
Listening to Johnny Miller watch guys take runs at his 63 is like listening to a father watch his daughter's prom date unfold.
— Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee) July 22, 2017
The highest clubhouse score out there has been Danny Willett's 73, which was the average score of the second round and now Branden Grace has started to advance again with a birdie at 14 that makes him -6 for round three with four to play and tied for fifth at two-under with Richie Ramsay.
Dustin Johnson continues to shine
With a fourth birdie at the seventh set up with a tremendous iron off the tee peg.
Popular pair
Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler on two-over both make pars at the first after resounding welcomes from the crowds. Branden Grace has registered pars on 10, 11, 12 and 13 after a tremendous front nine. He set up a decent birdie chance on the tricky 13th but slid his putt to the right of the cup. Jason Day joins the 65 club after a birdie on 15 followed by a hat-trick of pars.
Someone is going to low out there today. And I mean very low. Even 62 low. Birkdale is there to be butchered
— James Corrigan (@jcorrigangolf) July 22, 2017
Hend 65
Finishes with a four on the 18th and signs for a 65. The birdie putt from about 18ft stayed up on the left and he tapped it in, raised his hand, took off his cap and had the good grace not to dwell on the lost opportunity for a 64. Henrik Stenson begins with back-to-back birdies and moves up to level-par. Dustin Johnson leaves his long eagle chance at the fifth about 6ft short but snakes his birdie chance in, bending his knees in relief when it falls in off to the left of the cup. He, like Stenson, is on level-par.
Ernie Els
Has just been saying that he loves Birkdale because it's a course on which the, ahem, older gentleman can win because you don't have to bang it 300 yards off the tee. Making his case for him is the Australian Scott Hend who, at the age of 44, has made birdies at 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 to move up to level par.
Dustin Johnson has swept his birdie put straight into the heart of the cup for his second birdie, drives wildly at the fifth, cries 'Fore' and gets a fortunate bounce off a spectator with a metal plate in his head or the grandstand itself to leave himself a 40ft putt for eagle.
No Jonahs today
John McEnerney writes
After my wildly inaccurate prediction of Shane Lowry being the man to watch yesterday I'll try not to jinx anyone. Today for some it'll be about who they are playing with, can they feed off them off, be inspired by them, good example is Beef playing with Adam Scott who is a consistent enough Major contender also Brooks K could feel it today playing around with Poulter who'll have the crowd on his side & will be feeding off them big time. Moving day at The Open, let's get it on!
Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika
Shaun Norris's countryman, Branden Grace, has gone off like a train, making birdies at the first, fourth, fifth and eighth .. and now he's rolled in a birdie putt at the ninth to record 29 for the front nine.
Might see a 62 out there today. #nowind#soft
— Brian Wacker (@brianwacker1) July 22, 2017
Tommy Fleetwood rolls in his five-footer at 18 to sign for a 66 that takes him to +1. And Beef Johnston drains a 10ft birdie putt at the first and is greeted with a resounding 'Beeeeeef'. Darren Clarke thinks his beard is getting out of hand.
Shaun Norris
The man from (what's the word?) Johannesburg went out first this morning and goes to the recorder's office with a 65. He went round with the club's assistant pro for company as the odd man out above the cut and comes in on level par. Ian Baker-Finch and Fred Couples scored 64s at Birkdale in 1991 but 65 is a remarkable achievement, shared by Tiger Woods and John Huston in 1999 and Camilo Villegas in 2008.
Day of Day
Jason Day, US PGA champion in 2015, is having as good a day as Fleetwood, having hit four birdies through the 12th to come in to one-over.
Only in Britain.... pic.twitter.com/wtB26ZllqI
— John Huggan (@johnhuggan) July 22, 2017
And Dustin Johnson who succeeded Day at the top of the world rankings at the start of the year, has started with a birdie on the first to move to +2.
Good afternoon
The weather has resheathed its claws this morning and the scores have been encouragingly low. The biggest mover so far has been Shaun Norris from South Africa who has hit -5 today through 17 and has come in to level par by virtue of birdies at one, three, five, 11 and 17. Tommy Fleetwood has been on the march, too, and record home crowds have savoured his birdies at two, five, eight and 14, but particularly his eagle on 15. A pair of bogeys early on have hobbled his surge somewhat but he is still +1 through 16 and evidently enjoying himself enormously.
